Babanov has company on Nuptse East09:46 p.m. EDT Apr 29, 2003
Valery and Vladimir planned on leaving Sunday night to continue with their quest for Nuptse's yet unclimbed East Pillar, 7855m. On their last trip up they reached 6850m.

This weekend, Hans Kammerlander and his joint Italo-German expedition arrived to climb Nuptse East too. Hans is uncertain whether or not he will be climbing the same route as Valery and Vladimir, or if his team will be going for an adjacent route. Both expeditions do, however, have the same goal in mind, Nuptse's East Pillar.

This is Babanovís second attempt on Nuptseís East Pillar. It is unclimbed and a very technical route. Last autumn he attempted the same route solo, but poor weather and an expiring permit forced him to turn around. This spring he returned to finish what he started, and brought along a climbing partner, Vladimir Suviga.